We are rating it as LOW, but there are certain slopes that can be triggered by backcountry users. As people push out into new and bigger terrain, be wary where a slab sits over facets and/or a crust.
Weather Forecast
Some scattered flurries (1-3cm), with temperatures ranging from lows of -15C to highs of -5C. Winds will be light from the NE. A cooling trend Monday and Tuesday will lows in the -20C range and no new snow. A "Yoho blow" may develop at lower elevations near the divide with increased winds through low lying passes.
Snowpack Summary
5-10 cm of recent snow has been redistributed into some thin windslabs in alpine and treeline immediate lees. The October 26th crust/ facet layer is ~ 30 cm above ground. HS ranges from 50-85 cm at 2000 m with the entire snowpack faceting and weakening.
Avalanche Summary
The Lake Louise Ski area had a slackcountry remote triggered size 2 avalanche yesterday which has been the only avalanche observation over the last week. It occurred near treeline and indicates the need for consideration of the deeper weaknesses despite the generally improving conditions.
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.